New Peter Graham Work for RAH Final
Kapitol Promotions Ltd, announces that the set test-piece for this year’s Championship Section Final of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall on 15 October, is a new work from one of brass banding’s most eminent composers, Peter Graham.
Titled Hyperlink and commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (NYBBGB) for its 70th anniversary this year, the three-movement work, published by Gramercy Music, nods to other significant anniversaries taking place in 2022 – namely the 150th anniversaries of the Royal Albert Hall and Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well as, of course, the Platinum Jubilee of the patron of the National Championships – Queen Elizabeth II.
The world première of Hyperlink takes place during the NYBBGB’s Summer Course as part of its ‘Celebration Concert Season’, and a further connection between the ‘National’ and the NYBBGB occurs when the latter is the guest ensemble at the Championship Section Final pre-results concert. Philip Morris, Managing Director of Kapitol Promotions Ltd., commented: “When the opportunity arose for a brand new Peter Graham work at the Championship Section Final, we were delighted! Peter’s reputation as a wonderful compositional voice for our medium is justified, and we are excited to hear 20 of the finest brass bands in Great Britain perform this at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall – especially as Hyperlink pays homage to the Hall itself, as well as to our gracious patron, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in her Platinum Jubilee year. Our pre-results Gala Concert, featuring the fantastic young musicians of the NYBBGB, will be an added treat, and we are glad to support the future of brass banding in this manner.”
Hyperlink’s celebratory musical connections start in Movement 1, The Voice of Jupiter, which links Graham’s discovery that Denis Wright, born in Kensington, home of the Royal Albert Hall that houses the famous Henry Wills organ (aka The Voice of Jupiter), was a church organist. Said Peter Graham: ‘Organ and J S Bach are synonymous (think Toccata in D minor), so both become fundamental to the content of the movement. An opening seven-note quote from the Toccata leads to a mammoth sound cluster, as if every note on the huge RAH organ is sustained. The material following is based on the notes BACH (in German notation), manipulated in various ways in a 12-tone matrix, reversed, inverted and so on. Other techniques employed are ones that Bach was master of, including ground bass and fugue.”
Movement II – Remember Me, evokes the composer Ray Steadman-Allen’s (RSA) centenary this year and nods towards RVW, with whom RSA had an interesting encounter. Like the previous movement, a musical cryptogram is utilised with chords based upon ‘RSA’: D (re in ‘sol-fa’), Eb (Es in German) and A. The finale and Movement III, Vivat, is a short fantasy on Hubert Parry’s coronation anthem, I Was Glad, a truly a celebratory note with which to conclude Hyperlink.
Hyperlink will be available through www.justmusicuk.com from September, 2022.
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